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What’s in a name? For customer service, everything

One of the areas of the company I work for has a customer service-driven model that requires dedicated focus and checking of emails/answering phones. I was talking with someone who was answering emails and signing them without a name, and I commented that we should consider the Citibank approach and just make someone up.

It’s an oldie, but a goodie: S. Larson has been signing Citi customer service emails and mailings for many years with the same scanned signature. Does this person exist, or was it a creation of the bank?

The Wall Street Journal did a nice write-up a few years back, and it’s still a fun read today, but it does show the double-edged sword of a person-centric customer service approach: People notice if the name never changes or if the person can never be reached. But at the same time, putting a name on a customer email can make it feel more personal and connected.